A woman cries as she holds her son after they were evacuated from a flooded area in Aluva, Kerala, on August 18, 2018. As of Tuesday there are a total of 10,28,073 people in 5,645 relief camps across the state of Kerala since the start of the rains. As rains and floodwaters begin receding from many areas in Kerala, rescue operations are scaling down and said to be in their final stages. (Sivaram V / REUTERS)

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People are airlifted by the Indian Navy soldiers during a rescue operation on August 18, 2018. The floods were triggered by 10 days of an unusually heavy bout of rains. Briefing the media in Trivandrum, Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said, 223 people lost their lives between August 8-20, while six people died on Monday. (Sivaram V / REUTERS)

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An NDRF team from Gujarat distributes food, water and medicine to stranded flood victims in Alappuzha. Dozens of helicopters also dropped tonnes of food, medicine and water over areas cut off due to damaged roads and bridges. (Raj K Raj / HT Photo)

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Army personnel rescue local residents in a boat from a residential area of Pandanad,in Alappuzha district, Kerala, on August 19, 2018. The Alappuzha district continued to be the focus of the rescue operation as several areas remained submerged and last-ditch efforts were being made to locate stranded people. (Raj K Raj / HT Photo)

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Ajith Prasad (54) stands in front of the rubble of his house on the outskirts of Kozhikode district of Kerala on August 17, 2018. The government estimates about one lakh buildings, which includes people’s houses, have been damaged. Over 10,000km of highways and roads and hundreds of bridges have been washed away. (Manjunath Kiran / AFP)

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Flood-affected people being shifted to a relief camp after they were rescued from a flood-hit area in Kochi. The Kerala government has estimated a loss of Rs 20,000 crore, with Idukki, Malappuram, Kottayam and Ernakulam districts being the worst affected. (PTI)

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Local residents help each other in taking out vehicles from a boat in Alappuzha district. Train services which had collapsed following the incessant downpour in Kerala, have been partially restored, reports ANI. (Raj K Raj / HT Photo)

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A view of the submerged areas during flood in Pandalam, Kerala, on August 17, 2018. Kerala government has called for an all-party meeting over the flood situation in the state at 4 pm on Tuesday in Thiruvananthapuram. (Amal KS / HT Photo)

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A bicycle is hung from a tree branch to avoid being washed away in flood waters as a man rows a country boat in Alappuzha. The police were on Monday given the powers to arrest those who were unwilling to leave their submerged houses. Though no arrest was reported, many were forcibly moved to relief camps. (Tibin Augustine / AP)

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Volunteers cook food for flood effected people at a relief camp set up inside a government run school in Alappuzha on August 20, 2018. The government will start the process to accurately assess the damage after the relief and rescue work is over. (Aijaz Rahi / AP)

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Flood-affected people receive free medicines inside a college, which has been converted into a temporary relief camp, in Aluva. As water recedes, snakes and snails found floating in many homes. Some incidents of snake-bites have also been reported in Paravur. (Sivaram V / REUTERS)

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Flood victims rest inside a university classroom, which is converted into a temporary relief camp in Kochi on August 18, 2018. Though rains have subsided, stagnant water remains as there in no outlet. Those in camps are battling hunger, disease and poor hygiene. Large scale disinfection of flood-hit areas is being carried out. (Sivaram V / REUTERS)

about the gallery

As rains and stagnant floodwaters begin to recede in flood-hit Kerala, the weeklong rescue operations show signs of ending as agencies begin a final push. Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said that rebuilding damaged infrastructure and rehabilitation of the displaced people are top priorities. As many as 223 people have been killed while over a million are sheltered in relief camps. A look at the latest in rescue ad relief efforts in response to damage caused by scathing torrential rains over the course of the last ten days.